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Sunday, September 2, 2018

A Guide to Positano

Ciao! Oh how excited I’ve been to write this post. I apologise for the delay - as you can see there are approximately 500 photos so it took an age to put together and then I had a few technical issues with the ole blog. But we're up and running now!

The Amalfi Coast has lllllong been on my list of places I’d like to visit and last year I decided, ‘this is the year guys, this is it!’ only to realise that if you choose to book a last minute holiday to the Amalfi Coast in June you can expect to pay roughly £5m per night. Roughly. So that fell through and this year I had the same ‘this is the year!’ determination but with less of the foolish lack of advance planning. So, we split our trip up into three nights in Positano and two nights in Praiano so I’ll start with Positano today and come back to Praiano in another post!

When to go

Now this is totally subjective, but we booked to go at the end of April which I found to be a perfect time for Positano! The weather can be mixed around then, so we might just have been lucky, but it was absolutely lovely when we were there; in the low 20s every day and I think we only had one or two afternoons when the sun didn’t come out. But even then it was still mild enough to be out in t-shirts and dresses! As well as this, it’s still relatively quiet at this time of year; I’ve heard from locals and visitors alike that it can get a little crowded from the end of May onwards. Duration-wise, I would say anywhere from 2-4 days is the perfect amount of time to spend in Positano; it is quite small and if your plan is to fit it into a bigger trip around Italy/the Amalfi Coast then you can absolutely see what you need to see in just a couple of days! We flew into Naples airport, spent a night in Naples due to how late we arrived, and then travelled down first thing the next morning by car. We looked into public transport but it was going to take at least double the time and with a minimum of three changeovers so we booked a private hire through a friend of a friend. If you can afford to do it this way (we were 60e but it can range from there anywhere up to 150e) then I'd definitely look into doing it, especially if you have a heavy case filled with 697 dresses. Ahem.

Where to eat

We had some absolutely lovely meals when we there! I’m gluten intolerant (jeez, do I ever stop banging on about it, I know) and was absolutely over the moon to find gluten free pizza at the beautiful Il Fornillo, which was just down the road from our hotel. It’s covered in fairy lights in the evening, with tables both outside and in, and sits at the top of a hill looking down towards the sea. Expect incredible views, live street music and heavenly pizza. Another amazing meal we had was at Casa e Bottega which is vegan friendly and has a pretty healthy menu on offer if you fancy a break from pizza and pasta. Inside you'll also find a beautiful little shop selling linen, crockery and other traditional Italian items! Again there were lots of gluten free options on offer (including cake, hurrah!) but I opted for the surprisingly healthy courgette-spaghetti with Kirsty having the tasty-looking burger. We also had some lovely fresh juices and smoothies there so make sure not to miss out on those! Our most special meal, however, was at Li Galli, the restaurant in our hotel which serves up traditional Mediterranean food. It’s glass fronted and sits right at the top Positano - with a view across to Li Galli islands, of course - and is perfectly located to watch the sunset too. You can opt for A La Carte, the seven course, or even the ten course, tasting menu; we decided to go for the seven course tasting menu so that we could get a good feel for what they offered (also because why have one meal when you can have seven) and every single course was delicious. The scallops and the risotto in particular were amazing! They also have really, really good knowledge of allergens etc and can cater to vegan diets too - they are AWN IT.

Where to stay

I have to say, Villa Franca was one of the main highlights of our trip and was such a special experience. We arrived after a sticky drive from Naples and were welcomed with fresh lemonade, made from the famous Amalfi lemons, and the nicest team ever. The décor inside is absolutely beautiful, very minimal and chic and worthy of a dedicated Pinterest board. But it’s the view that steals the show; because of the hotel's unique positioning at the top of the hill, the breakfast room faces right out across the town so you can sit and soak up that iconic view with a croissant in hand. The roof has the same spectacular view except it's the full 360 version so you can see right across the sea too! There’s a lovely pool up there (they were doing some maintenance work on it whilst we were there so I’m afraid I don’t have any photos) so if you don’t feel up to exploring you can just chill out on the loungers and watch the world go by. I’d absolutely recommend a visit to the bar on the roof at sunset to sit with a cocktail or a wine and watch the sky light up shades of pastel pink, orange and lilac. We did that both nights and it really is lovely and very, very romantic. I almost proposed to Kirsty at one point due to sheer giddiness. The rooms are beautiful too, with huge big comfy beds, double sinked bathrooms (sinked isn’t a word is it? It felt right, though) and a little terrace to hang out on. The staff there are all SO wonderful, so, so friendly and knowledgeable and are always there if you need anything. So thank you so much to them for making our stay so special. Last but not least, and sadly I can’t vouch for them myself as I didn’t have the chance to use them, there is also a spa and a gym on site!

Villa Franca was booked through the amazing Small Luxury Hotels who, as ye all know, are my number one go-to's when looking for hotels for trips!

What to do

Walk walk walk. Same for both Praiano and Positano. As simple as it sounds, just set off and have a wander through the town, stopping in at all the wee boutique shops and cafes along the way. Take yourself down to the famous Marina Grande beach for an afternoon or two and soak up some sun with a view of that iconic coastline. I have to say, I slightly preferred the beautiful Fornillo beach as it was a little quieter but with equally impressive views (that's the one I'm at in the polka dot swimsuit above) The one thing I would say you HAVE to do – that’s right – I’ve put it in capitals to stress how much you need to do it, is go on a boat trip. There are so, so many parts of the Amalfi Coast that you can either only reach, or are much easier to reach, by boat. We were lucky enough to have known someone there who has a boat (a friend of a friend, I can’t say I know many people with boats. One day) who took us out for the day and it was the best thing I've done, not just in Positano, but this year as a whole. I’ve also heard Capri is wonderful, which we would definitely have done if we’d had more time, so that’s something else I’d recommend looking into if you can squeeze it in!

And that’s my input on Positano! As much as I've always wanted to visit the Amalfi Coast, I did wonder if I was being a bit basic by dreaming of going there on honeymoon and then arrived and thought, 'I don't care. I want to be part of this big cliché. I want the romantic Amalfi honeymoon and someone to feed me bits of pizza and brush my hair whilst I look upon that beautiful coastline.' Well, to be fair, I'd like someone to feed me copious amounts of pizza no matter what the view. It’s the most incredibly romantic place and has a real nostalgic feel to it as soon as you arrive; driving down those curved roads built into the rocks I cursed myself for not having a silk headscarf and a long cigarette holder to hand. In saying that, it’s a lovely place to visit with chums or family too – it doesn’t necessarily need to be a snogfest. Me and Kirsty didn’t even snog once. I think I might have tried to hold her hand at one point but that's as far as it went.